15.49 trillion! BlackRock's assets under management have reached half of the US GDP

BlackRock's assets under management in the third quarter surpassed $15 trillion, setting a new record. Robust net inflows and a diversified business layout drove revenue to surge 19% year-over-year, and the private credit business also demonstrated relative resilience.

On October 14, before the U.S. stock market opened, BlackRock released its third-quarter earnings report. The company’s assets under management reached $15.49 trillion, setting a new historical high—an astounding figure equivalent to about half of the U.S. annual nominal GDP (approximately $31 trillion to $32.5 trillion).

BlackRock saw net inflows of $205 billion for the quarter. Revenue increased by 19% year-over-year to $7.75 billion, GAAP earnings per share were $10.57, and adjusted earnings per share were $15.93.

On the day the results were announced, BlackRock’s share price experienced a significant “rise and pullback.” Shares surged as much as 5% in early trading on Wednesday, but gains narrowed throughout the session, and the stock closed flat. However, buying momentum returned the following Thursday, driving a strong rebound to close up more than 4%.

BlackRock Chairman and CEO Larry Fink stated in the report that client net inflows for the quarter reached $205 billion, with total net inflows over the past year climbing to $869 billion. He noted:

We are entering the seasonally strongest fourth quarter with accelerating momentum.

The flagship iShares ETF product line drew nearly $135 billion of net inflows this quarter, making it a key source of growth. The company also repurchased $550 million of stock during the same period. Fink commented in the statement:

Market fundamentals remain strong, fueled by new technologies, and both corporate profit margins and earnings momentum continue to improve.

Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, he said the company has ample project pipelines across multiple business lines, including private markets and retirement funds.

In addition, BlackRock’s artificial intelligence infrastructure partnership project completed its first deployment this quarter, and over the past twelve months, the private market business has raised a total of $68 billion.

Since the beginning of the year, the private credit industry has generally been under pressure, with concerns about software industry loan exposure and large-scale redemption requests weighing on the sector. BlackRock’s private credit business showed relative resilience, with net inflows increasing by $5 billion quarter-on-quarter.

BlackRock Chief Financial Officer Martin Small said on the analyst call that overall, investment demand in private credit remains robust. He added:

We believe that providing private high-grade credit across our platform presents a larger and more durable opportunity, while also helping to deepen client relationships.

In terms of redemption pressure, redemption requests for BlackRock’s corporate loan funds decreased from 13.3% in the second quarter to around 11.5% in the latest quarter, easing somewhat on the margin.

However, rating agency Moody’s warned in its October 14 report that the actual situation may be more severe than default rates disclosed thus far. Moody’s noted:

With persistently high interest rates, refinancing difficulties, redemption pressures, and lack of transparency, asset quality risks are accumulating among weaker middle-market borrowers in the U.S. private credit market.